A group backing a proposed constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid in Florida filed a federal lawsuit Sunday seeking to block a new state law that dramatically tightens restrictions on the citizen initiative process.

The 74-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, argues that House Bill 1205 imposes unconstitutional burdens on political speech, association, and civic participation in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The plaintiffs, Florida Decides Healthcare, Inc., its campaign manager Mitchell Emerson, and out-of-state petition coordinator Jordan Simmons, are suing Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Attorney General James Uthmeier, all 67 county supervisors of elections, and the state attorneys for each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the law before its July 1 effective date.

“This year, the Legislature acted to put the initiative process even more out of reach of all but the wealthiest special interests—or the few sponsors who are able to muster sufficient support for broadly popular proposals—through the enactment of a series of additional burdensome statutory changes,” the lawsuit reads. “The cumulative effect is a drastic curtailment of direct democracy in Florida.”

HB 1205, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 2, introduces new eligibility rules for anyone collecting or handling petition forms. Circulators must be U.S. citizens, Florida residents, and free of un-restored felony convictions. Petition sponsors face a $50,000 fine per circulator who fails to meet those criteria, regardless of intent or whether the circulator was previously approved by the state. The law applies to both paid and volunteer circulators and automatically invalidates any petitions submitted by ineligible individuals.

The lawsuit states that Florida Decides Healthcare employs more than 250 paid circulators and had planned to scale its operations to 3,000 by September. It contends that the eligibility rules will require the group to terminate contracts with out-of-state staff and bar participation by lawful permanent residents and formerly incarcerated individuals. Simmons, a Missouri resident and project director for the campaign, said he will be forced to resign if the law takes effect.

In addition to the eligibility restrictions, the complaint challenges several other provisions of HB 1205. The law cancels all existing circulator registrations as of July 1, requiring re-registration under the new standards. It also imposes a 90-day moratorium on signature verification by county election officials from July through September, halting a key step in the ballot qualification process during what the plaintiffs describe as a critical window for signature collection.

The law requires all signed petitions to be delivered to the appropriate county supervisor of elections within 10 days or face daily fines of $50 per petition, escalating to $2,500 for “willful” violations. Sponsors are also liable for $500 fines if a petition is sent to the wrong county and $5,000 if the delivery error is deemed intentional. The plaintiffs argue that these penalties are strict liability in nature, meaning sponsors can be punished even when errors are caused by voters or mail delays.

The complaint also takes aim at new criminal provisions in the bill, including the expansion of Florida’s racketeering statute to cover undefined “irregularities” in petition activity and a felony offense for retaining voter information that must appear on the forms. The plaintiffs say the vague language exposes circulators and sponsors to felony charges for routine campaign practices.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare multiple provisions of HB 1205 unconstitutional and issue an injunction blocking their enforcement. No hearing date has been set.